7/2/09 7:00 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. In my Wednesday morning update I stated that LSU is preseason picked No.17 in the nation and No. 3 in the SEC West by Phil Steele and Athlon and that I was a little disappointed. Yesterday I received an email from a reader who told me that LSU is preseason No. 6 in Lindy’s with Florida No. 1, Alabama No. 7, Ole Miss No. 9 (looks like the SEC West is going to be tough) and GA No. 19. Tennessee and Auburn, South Carolina, Miss St, Arkansas and Vanderbilt were not ranked. I plan on purchasing several preseason publication to take a look at after the season is over to see who did the best with their predictions.

In recruiting news, Storm Johnson has in fact verbally committed to play for LSU. I wasn't clear on that in yesterday's report, although I did add a link to an article by nola.com stating that Johnson had committed to LSU. With the addition of running back Storm Johnson of Georgia, LSU now has 16 commitments. Johnson had over 25 offers and chose LSU over Florida, FSU, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA and Michigan State, to name a few. Johnson will enroll at LSU in January of 2010.

While it appears that LSU is going to have a top 5-10 signing class, the big question is “where's the beef?” As of today, LSU has only received commitments from one offensive lineman Jermarus Hardrick, a 6'7", 315, junior college transfer from FT Scott junior college.

I believe that Les Miles would like to sign four offensive linemen and four defensive linemen in the February 2010 signing class. Coach Miles and his staff are recruiting linemen in Texas, Ohio, Mississippi and other states and is in great shape with several out-of-state linemen including offensive tackle Evan Washington (6'5", 285) from DeSoto Texas and Jackson Jeffcoat (6'5”, 230) from Plano, Texas. In the state of Louisiana, LSU has offered defensive end Jordan Allen (6’6”, 245) from West Monroe, offensive lineman Elliot Porter (6'3", 280) from Shaw and is still recruiting Alex Hill (OL, 6'4", 285) from Slidell, Luke Charpentier (OT, 6'4", 290) from John Curtis, Walker Ashburn (DT, 6'2", 250) from John Curtis, Dillon Day (OL, 6’4”, 250) from West Monroe and Churphy Stewart (6'1", 275) from Breaux Bridge. Stewart could not be blocked in the June Summer camp at LSU but has major grade problems that might force him to attend a junior college.

In other LSU football news, it is almost certain that LSU will be playing North Carolina in Atlanta on September 02 to open the 2010 season. LSU is currently scheduled to open the 2010 season against Tulane in the Louisiana Super Dome. I expect that Butch Davis is going to turn around the North Carolina program in a hurry.

Reader comments: Here are two good articles about LSU football: CollegeFootballNews.com's LSU Tigers Preview 2009; ESPNU's My Favorite Stadiums in the SEC.

In LSU baseball news, Micah Gibbs has been named to the Rawlings Gold Glove team for the second year in a row. Gibbs, a sophomore from Pflugerville, Texas, was voted in May to the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team by the league coaches. Gibbs had a strong second half of the season at the plate and batted .294 for LSU this season with 16 doubles, two triples, six homers, 42 RBI and 58 runs. He helped lead the Tigers to the national championship by hitting .357 in the College World Series with three RBI and six runs scored. I expect that Gibbs will see his home run production improve in the 2010 season and will likely be a first or second round draft pick in the 2010 baseball draft. Gibbs recorded a .989 fielding percentage during the ’09 season, committing only seven errors. He threw out 22 runners attempting to steal and was charged with just four passed balls.


7/1/09 7:00 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. There are only 66 days before the start of the 2009 LSU football season and I am ready to get it on. I was at a major book store Tuesday looking at a few football publications and noticed that Phil Steele and Athlon both had LSU picked No. 17 in the nation and third in the SEC and I can understand why the two picked LSU where they did. LSU went 8-5 last season with an unproven quarterback and with co-defensive coordinators. There is no doubt that LSU will be stronger at the quarterback position in 2009 and will have a much stronger coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball.

LSU will play Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss on the road and it will be hard to win two of the three games. LSU plays Florida, Auburn, Arkansas and Vanderbilt at home and should win three of the four games. At this time, I am picking LSU to go 9-3 but 10-2 is a strong possibility. I am glad that the so-called experts are picking LSU to finish third in the SEC West... I like seeing LSU surprise the national media.

Tuesday was a huge day for email and most of the messages I received were concerning football recruiting. There are a lot of Tiger fans who enjoy recruiting more than the actual games. All that I am hearing on recruiting is very positive. LSU is closing in on signing running back Storm Johnson from Georgia, according to a few reports like this one. Johnson has been a lean to LSU for several months and is being recruited by running back coach Larry Porter who is by far the best recruiter on the staff now that Brad Peveto is no longer there. Wide receiver coach D.J. McCarthy is probably the second best recruiter on the staff. Les Miles is one of the SEC's best head coach recruiters.

After Johnson commits to LSU, I believe Les Miles will accept one more comittment from a running back if he is a big-time prospect. The state of Louisiana will have two of the nation's top running back prospects for the 2011 signing class in Kenny Hilliard from Patterson and Jeremy Hill from Redemptorist and three other running back prospects who are big-time. I would like to see LSU in position to sign three running backs in the 2111 signing class.

The 2009 LSU baseball season is over, but the honors keeps pouring in. Tuesday LSU pitcher Matty Ott was named to the 2009 Baseball America magazine's first-team Freshman All-America squad. Ott, the 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, recorded 16 saves during LSU’s national championship season, setting the school’s single-season saves record. Ott, a right-hander from Metairie, La., posted a 4-2 record and a 2.68 ERA in 37 appearances this season with six walks and 69 strikeouts in 50 and one-third innings. Ott earned second-team All-America recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association earlier this month. He also received third-team All-America honors last month from Collegiate Baseball magazine. Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon was voted the 2009 Baseball America Freshman of the Year. I find it hard to believe that Mikie Mahtook, Tyler Hanover and Austin Nola did not make the second team.

At 1 p.m. CT Wednesday, ESPNU will re-air the 2009 College World Series Championship Game as its “TMI” Game of the Week. “TMI”, a popular acronym for “Too Much Information,” will display unique factoids about the players and teams during LSU’s 11-4 victory over Texas, which was played on June 24.

Summer baseball news concerning LSU players: I went to the Cape Cod league web site last night and found that D.J. LeMahieu, Leon Landry, Daniel Bradshaw and pitcher Brett Bruening (6'6" from Power Mound, Texas) are playing Summer ball with the Harwich Mariners. Micah Gibbs, Tyler Hanover, Anthony Ranaudo and Austin Ross are playing for the Yarmouth Red Sox. Ben Alsup is playing for the Luray Wranglers. Jon Dishon, a redshirt outfielder, is playing at Stauton for the Stauton Braves. If anyone knows where other LSU players are playing this Summer, please let me know.

While on the subject of baseball. it was announced yesterday that Sean Ochinko has signed to play pro baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays.

6/30/09 7:20 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. I'd like to send out a big thank you to all of you who voted in the baseball poll that I posted yesterday. I was surprised by the number of readers who voted, but I was not surprised that the 1996 team that won the CWS over Miami with Warren Morris' two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth received the most votes. The 2009 team came in second. I received alot of messages yesterday from readers asking me to do more polls. I will do several polls concerning football starting next week. If any of you would like to suggest a poll topic, please email it to me.

Coach Paul Mainieri has been named Baseball America College Coach Of The Year. Here's the article.

In other baseball news, the LSU-Texas CWS championship helped ESPN draw record TV audiences. Below is more information from ESPN.

ESPN's 30th consecutive NCAA Men's College World Series was the most-viewed and highest-rated in ESPN and ESPN2 history -- including the best-of-three Championship Series won by LSU over Texas -- while posting significant audience increases over last year.

Overall, ESPN averaged 1,450,000 households, 1,928,000 viewers and a 1.5 rating, marking increases of 33% (vs. 1,091,000), 37% (vs. 1,408,000) and 36% (vs. 1.1), respectively, over 2008.

ESPN's three Championship Series telecasts averaged 2,059,000 households; 2,762,000 total viewers; and a 2.1 rating, making it the most-viewed and highest-rated Series finals since the tournament expanded to the best-of-three format in 2003. This season's games marked increases of 24% (vs. 1,664,000), 26% (vs. 2,193,000) and 24% (vs. 1.7), respectively, over last year.

The Championship Series produced three of ESPN's top four most-viewed NCAA College World Series telecasts ever, highlighted by the most-viewed and second highest-rated for the decisive Game 3 which averaged 2,303,000 households; 3,160,000 viewers; and a 2.3 rating.

Game 2 stands as the third most-viewed with 1,964,000 households, 2,620,000 viewers and a 2.0 rating. Game 1 delivered 1,905,000 households, 2,500,000 viewers and a 1.9, making it the fourth most-viewed in ESPN history.

ESPN2 averaged 821,000 households and 1,043,000 viewers for increases of 6% (vs. 771,000) and 6% (vs. 988,000), respectively, over last year. The network averaged a 0.8 rating, the same as last season.

In other LSU sports news, LSU finished No. 9 in the Director's Cup for the Best College Sports Program in the nation. Stanford finished number one mainly due to finishing first or second in several minor sports that LSU does not participate in. Leading the way in terms of Director’s Cup points for LSU in 2008-09 was its national title in baseball, which awarded the school 100 points for the first place finish. LSU also picked up 80 points for a fourth place finish in men’s indoor track and field, 75 points for a fifth place finish in men’s outdoor track and field, 73.5 points in the sports of women’s gymnastics and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field for sixth place finishes in each of those sports. LSU’s other Director’s Cup points came in the following sports: women’s golf (64.5 points) women’s swimming and diving (58.5 points), women’s basketball (50 points), men’s basketball (50 points), men’s tennis (50 points), women’s tennis (50 points), softball (50 points), men’s swimming and diving (46 points), football (45 points), men’s golf (39.5 points), women’s soccer (25 points), and volleyball (25 points).

In football recruiting news, there is not a lot going on at this time, but I have reason to believe that LSU will have as many as 20 commitments by the the start of the 2009 high school year. According to my number one source who is usually on the money, LSU will have another top 5-10 recruiting class that is likely to be closer to No. 5 than No. 10. In recruiting news concerning Louisiana prospects, two players, Curtis Carter (DB, 6'1", 175, North DeSoto) and Jarrett Fobbs (ATH, 6'0", 180) from Huntington high school in Shreveport have been outstanding in workouts this Summer and have received scholarship offers from several major schools. LSU has offered Fobbs to play on the defensive side of the ball, but he prefers to play offense. Fobbs is believed to be leaning to Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Carter, who is a slight lean to Nebraska, is expected to attend LSU's Summer camp in July and will likely be offered by Les Miles. And while on the subject of top LA recruits, here is an excellent article on Thibodaux’s Trovon Reed.

In closing, I'd like to congratulate former Tiger David Toms who tied for second Sunday in the PGA Tour.



6/29/09 7:00 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. LSU baseball fans are still buzzing over winning the college world series and I decided to conduct a poll on which of LSU's six CWS champions is your favorite.

To refresh your memory before voting in my poll, here's a brief recap of the six champion teams:

In 1991, LSU defeated Wichita State 6-3 for the title. The Tigers scored 48 runs in four games and tied a CWS record with nine home runs in the four games. Chad Ogea was the winning pitcher for LSU and catcher Gary Himel was the MVP.

In 1993, LSU defeated Wichita State 8-0 behind the great pitching of Brett Laxton who recorded 16 strikeouts and Todd Walker was named MVP.

In 1996, LSU defeated Miami 9-8 on a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning by Warren Morris which was his first home run of the season. Morris should have been the MVP in my opinion, but did not make the all-tournament team.

In 1997, LSU defeated Alabama 13-6 for the title and hit a total of 188 home runs on the season. Doug Thompson was the winning pitcher in the title game and Brandon Larson was named MVP.

In 2000, LSU defeated Stanford 6-5 by scoring four runs in their final two at bats with the winning run scored by Ryan Theriot on a single by Brad Cresse who was 1-12 in the series. Trey Hodges was the winning pitcher and MVP.

In 2009, as you all know, LSU defeated Texas 11-4 with Anthony Ranaudo the winning pitcher and Jared Mitchell the MVP.

Click here to vote in my poll. After preparing my poll last night I was searching the internet and found that the Times Picayune had already posted a very similar poll, but I decided to post mine anyway. I appreciate your participation.

While on the subject of baseball, the major league season is nearly half way over and I am going to update my readers on former LSU players in the major leagues. At this time, Brad Hawpe is having the best season of all the former Tigers. Hawpe is hitting .338 with Colorado and has 11 home runs and 54 RBI . Aaron Hill, playing for Toronto, is having a solid year hitting .306 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI. Ryan Theriot is playing for the Cubs and is hitting .284 with six home runs and 26 RBI. Mike Fontenot, also with the Cubs, is hitting .223 with six home runs and 27 RBI. A few weeks ago Fontenot was hitting around .180. In class AAA, J.C. Holt is hitting .264 at Gwinnett which is in the Atlanta Braves' farm team. Todd Linden is hitting .312 at Scranton which is a N.Y. Yankee farm team. Nick Stavinoha is hitting .276 for the Cardinal farm club in Memphis. In class A, Matt Clark is hitting .266 at Fort Wayne, a Padres' farm team. Michael Hollander is hitting .274 at Hickory, a Ranger farm team. Matt Liuzza is hitting .231 at Dunedin, a farm team of the Blue Jays. Ryan Clark is playing in an Independent league and is hitting .272 at Fort Worth.

Former LSU pitchers pitching in the major leagues include the following: Roy Corcoran pitches for Seattle and has a 1-0 record and a 7.30 ERA. Russ Springer, who has been pitching in the major leagues for several seasons, is 0-1 at Oakland with a 5.61 ERA and has pitched 26 innings in 31 games. Brian Tallet is 5-4 at Toronto with a 4.36 ERA. Brian Wilson is 2-3 at San Francisco with a 2.91 ERA. In class 3-A, Billy Sadler is 5-2 with a 5.05 ERA at Fresno, a San Franciso farm team. Greg Smith is 1-0 at Colorado Springs, a Rockies' farm team. In class 1-A, Will Harris is pitching at Tri- City, a Rockies farm team, with no record and has only pitched one inning, Trey Hodges, who pitched a in a few games for Atlanta, is now pitching in an independent league at Lancaster with a 1-3 record and a 4.15 ERA. Jason Scobie is also at Lancaster with a 3-3 record and an 8.04 ERA. Shane Youman is 0-1 at York with a 5.94 ERA.

There is no breaking news to report in football at this time and I do not expect anything to break until after July 04. I do expect running back Storm Johnson out of Georgia to commit to LSU in early July. I will also be doing several football related polls leading up to my pre season predictions before the start of the 2009 season.

Reader comments: TAF SUMMER TALK

Tiger Fans, spend an evening with LSU receiver coach, D.J. McCarthy, on Thursday, July 9th at 5:30 pm., at the home of Guy Campbell, 3430 Loop Road, Monroe. Enjoy fresh catfish with all the fixens and your favorite beverage. There is limited seating so get your tickets early. Tickets available for $40 each for TAF Members and $50 each for nonmembers at:

Bob Sale Gift and Camera
1111 North 4th
Monroe, La.
322-3425

The Toggery
1400 North 18th
Monroe, La.
388-4939

Monroe Office Equipment
3177 Sterlington Road
Monroe, La.
388-4600

Mike Nolan
2511 Broadmoor Blvd
Monroe, La.
322-2013

Come and hear the current information for the 2009 football season and visit with all the Tiger Fans. Geaux Tigers!



6/28/09 7:40 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. I hope all of you have a great day and a great week ahead. For all of you traveling this week on vacation, have a safe trip.

Tiger fans are still on cloud nine because of LSU winning the CWS and that is a good thing because things are a little slow at this time at LSU and will be until after the July 4th weekend. Most, if not all, of the football players who reported to LSU in early June to take part in Summer workouts have returned home or will be returning home later this week to spend time with family and friends before returning July 06 to take part in the second half of Summer workouts prior to the start of Fall practice. After the players return on July 06, most will not return home until after the January bowl game which I hope is for the national championship.

I have received a large number of emails concerning football, basketball and baseball recruiting the last few days. LSU has 15 football commitments and is looking to receive commitments from 10-12 more players before the 2010 signing date in February. It is no secret that Les Miles would like to receive commitments from two big-time running backs, three or four more offensive linemen, three to five defensive ends and tackles and a couple of great athlete such as Trovon Reed (ATH, 6'0", 172) from Thibodaux who is the top skill player in the state of Louisiana. Reed is one of four remaining in-state players who have been offered by Coach Miles but are still not committed to any school that I know of. The other three are defensive end Jordan Allen (DE, 6'6", 250) from West Monroe, Elliot Porter (OL, 6'3", 280) from Shaw high school in New Orleans and Jarrett Fobbs (ATH, 6'0", 180) from Huntington of Shreveport. Fobbs did not grow up an LSU fan and has average interest in LSU.

In basketball recruiting, Coach Trent Johnson has signed two players for the 2009 season. They are Eddie Ludwig (6'8", forward) from Country Day high school in New Orleans and Aaron Dotson (6'4", guard) from Seattle, Washington. Johnson has also signed Malcolm White, a 6'10" transfer from Ole Miss who will have to sit out a year and will have two years to play for the Tigers. Johnson also received a comittment from a junior from Jackson, Mississippi and a sophomore from Pickerling, Louisiana. Johnson did lose three prime in-state recruits - two to Oklahoma State and one to ST Joseph located in Philadelphia. Johnson is expected to sign four players in the November early signing period.

In baseball recruiting, LSU is expected to pick up several commitments within the next two weeks to replace underclassmen drafted in the MLBD including Jared Mitchell, D.J. LeMahieu, and most likely one or two others. Mainieri will also have to replace at least two signees, Slade Heathcott and Chad Stang, who are very close to signing pro baseball contracts this coming week.



6/27/09 7:30 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. The 2009 LSU baseball season is over and will be one of the most memorable seasons ever, in my opinion. I believe that LSU's 7-6 win over Texas in 11 innings will go down as one of the best game in CWS history. LSU head coach Paul Mainieri pulled all the right buttons in the win, and made several great coaching moves in Wednesday night's 11-4 win over Texas. Because of the Monday and Wednesday wins that gave LSU the national title, Mainieri was named National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. In three years at LSU, Mainieri has posted a 134-62 record with two SEC titles, two trips to the College World Series and one national championship. The Tigers finished the 2009 season with a 56-17 record with the 56 wins being the most in the NCAA.

Here are a few quotes from Coach Mainieri:

“This team is a living example that if you dream it, you can do it,” Mainieri said about his 2009 NCAA Championship squad. “There was no doubt in their minds from the first day we got together in August that it was very possible that we were going to have this day together as national champions. I can vividly remember the first team meeting in August on the first day of school when we talked about winning the national championship. We believed it, but it was a long way away. We knew that we were going to have a lot of challenges if we were going to get to Omaha, so we didn’t think about Omaha. We just thought about the next game in front of us.

“We started out ranked No. 1 in the country. What an awesome responsibility. We had a brand new stadium and everybody had high expectations for this season. Lesser people than these kids would have crumbled under that pressure, but these kids had the composure, poise, confidence and work ethic and the belief in each other that if they just took it one day at a time, they knew they could accomplish great things.”

In Wednesday night's national championship game, I thought it was a class act for Coach Mainieri to allow Louis Coleman to pitch the final two innings. Especially since Matty Ott, the freshman pitcher of the year, was rested and ready to pitch. Coleman turned down a nice signing bonus to return to LSU for his senior season and I believe that was Mainieri's way of saying thanks. I also thought it was a class act that Nick Pontiff played the final inning in right field and it was great coaching to bring Chad Jones in to pitch to two left handed hitters and then leave him in the game to pitch to a couple of right handed hitters. Jones is a remarkable athlete and it is going to be very interesting to see if Jones plays full-time with the football team next Spring or spends the Spring playing baseball. Jones is an outfielder by trade, but as a LHP he has a live arm, throws in the low to mid 90s and has a great slider. If Jones spends the entire Spring with the baseball program, and if he develops as a pitcher the way that I believe he will, he could very easily be a first round pick in the MLBD next June and wouldn't that be interesting.

While on the topic of baseball, in my Friday morning update I did not mention Chad Jones as being in the 2010 lineup and I regret the error. I also mentioned that Randy Zeigler might be in the running for the third base position. I have learned that Zeigler is transferring from LSU to a Florida junior college. I am also hearing that a couple more players on the current roster will not be returning but I am going to hold off on their names.

LSU Fighting Tigers football is right around the corner with the countdown clock down to 70 days. Below are some very important dates to remember leading up to the start off the 2009 season.

Fri., July 24 LSU at SEC Football Media Days (Hoover, Ala.) * 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Head coach Les Miles, OT Ciron Black, LB Jacob Cutrera)
Wed., Aug. 5 Team reports to campus
Thurs., Aug. 6 First day of practice
Sun., Aug. 9 LSU Media Day and Fan Day * Time TBA
Mon., Aug. 24 First Day of Class on LSU Campus
Mon., Aug. 31 First Les Miles Weekly Press Luncheon * 11:45 a.m.
Sat., Sept. 5 LSU season opener at Washington * 9:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)

Reader comments: Hey DD, thought you would be interested in reading this article. The future of all LSU sports sounds to be promising.

Reader comments: HI Don, Thanks for all of the info as always. I just wanted to point out that Marcus Thornton was drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA draft and was traded to the Hornets last night.



6/26/09 7:00 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. An overflow crowd did not let the 100 degree temperature stop them from taking part in celebrating and honoring the CWS national champion LSU Tigers baseball team. I wish that the celebration would have been a few days later to allow Tiger fans more time to plan for the event as many of the Tiger fans who attended the CWS in Omaha will be returning home today. I also understand that most, if not all, of the players on the team will be reporting to Summer ball leagues as early as this weekend or Monday and cannot wait around for the celebration.

It is truly a great time to be a Tiger fan and the excitement of winning the CWS will be enough to carry me over until the start of the 2009 football season. The baseball team won the regular SEC season and the SEC tournament, defeated Baylor in the Baton Rouge Regional, defeated Rice in the Super Regional and defeated Texas in the finals of the CWS. I hope that Texas schools have gotten the message not to mess with LSU. I believe the 2010 LSU baseball team will be as strong or stronger than the 2009 team, especially the pitching staff.

As for the 2010 LSU baseball season, this is how I see the projected lineup and batting order at this time, based on returning squad members and the signing list below. Of course, this is far from being official. I have been told to expect at least four more signees in the next two weeks. I do expect Blake Dean to return for his senior season.

Austin Nola SS
Tyler Hanover 2st
Blake Dean 1st
Leon Landry LF
Micah Gibbs C
Mikie Mahtook CF
Johnny Deshon RF
Grant Dozar or Randy Zeigler at 3rd
Chadwin Stang (DH)

As for pitching, Anthony Ranaudo will be the ace of the staff. Daniel Bradshaw, Austin Ross, Shane Riedle and Chris Matulis will compete to be in the pitching rotation. Paul Bertuccini will be the set up man for Matty Ott. I expect incoming freshmen Zack Von Rosenburg and Brody Colvin to be weekend starters and I expect Rosenburg to be as good or better than Texas' true freshman Taylor Jungmann was this past season.

Below is a partial list of the incoming baseball recruiting class.

Brett Bruening, P, Flower Mound, Tex., Grayson J.C.
Brody Colvin, P/OF, Lafayette, La., St. Thomas More H.S.
Alex Edward, IF, Baton Rouge, La., Parkview Baptist H.S.
Forrest Garrett, P, Norcross, Ga., Norcross H.S.
Slade Heathcott, P/OF, Texarkana, Tex., Texas H.S.
Mason Katz, IF, Harahan, La., Jesuit H.S.
Michael Lowery, IF, Pearland, Tex., Temple J.C.
Wes Luquette, C, New Orleans, La., Newman H.S.
Mitchell Mormann, P, Manchester, Ia., Des Moines Area J.C.
Michael Reed, P, Houston, Tex., Stratford H.S.
Jordan Rittiner, P, Metairie, La., Jesuit H.S.
Zack Von Rosenburg, P, Zachary, La., Zachary H.S.
Chadwin Stang, OF, Surry, British Columbia, Midland J.C.

In women's softball recruiting news, Heldi Pizer (5'11", shortstop) has gotten her release from UL-L and has signed to play for LSU. Pizer was a very highly recruited player from Tigard, Oregeron, and will have three years to play at LSU.

Closing on a personal note, Wednesday was my wife's and my 52nd wedding anniversary and winning the CWS was a great gift. And yesterday afternoon I went fishing and caught seven bass. None were very big, but it sure was nice to wet a line.



6/25/09 7:00 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. A big congratulations to Coach Paul Mainieri, the LSU baseball team and to Tiger fans for winning the national title last night over Texas 11-4. I am so very happy that LSU won in dominating fashion to leave no doubt that LSU is the best college baseball team in the nation. The win was a total team effort by LSU. I think Jared Mitchell had a great CWS and was very deserving of being named MVP, but I also thought D.J. LeMahieu had a great CWS and should have been Co-MVP. Mikie Mahtook, Sean Ochinko, Micah Gibbs, Austin Nola, Blake Dean, Ryan Schimpf, Chad Jones and Derek Helenihi performed very well. I was also very happy that Louis Coleman pitched two scoreless innings after having a bad first game against Texas.

The game was seen nationwide on ESPN and had to be a big recruiting tool for LSU in all sports, especially for football and baseball players wanting to play both sports in college. Chad Jones and Jared Mitchell prove that players can excel in both sports at LSU.

Below is my recap of the game. I appreciate your comments and feedback.

LSU was the visiting team and hit first. D.J. LeMahieu led off with a deep fly ball out to right field, Ryan Schimpf struck out, and Blake Dean was hit by a pitch. Sean Ochinko, batting fourth, singled to left field, then Jared Mitchell hit a three-run home run. Mahtook grounded out to third base for the third out.

Coach Mainieri's decision to move Ochinko and Mitchell up in the batting order worked to perfection in the first inning.

In the bottom of the first, Michael Torres of Texas started it off with a single up the middle. Next, Travis Tucker struck out, Brandon Belt flied out to Mahtook in center field, and Russell Moldenhauer singled to right field bringing up the tying run in Cameron Rupp. Rupp walked on five pitches, then Kevin Keys came to the plate with the bases loaded and struck out on a pitch in his eyes.

In the top of the second for LSU, Micah Gibbs led off with a single just over the second baseman. Next, Helenihi grounded out third to first, Nola flew out to deep right field, and LeMahieu singled up the middle advancing Gibbs to third base. In a key at bat for LSU, Schimpf singled up the middle to give LSU a 4-0 lead. Dean, who started the first inning rally being hit by a pitch, popped up to second base.

In the bottom of the second for Texas, Connor Rowe reached base on an infield single. Preston Clark pooped up to Helenihi, Brandon Loy flied out to centerfield and Torres popped up to D.J. LeMahieu.

In the top of the third for the Tigers, Ochinko, facing a new pitcher in Brandon Workman, singled to centerfield. Jared Mitchell flew out to deep left field and Mahtook and Gibbs struck out on high fast balls.

In the bottom of the third for Texas, Tucker doubled to left field, Belt drew a base on balls on two very close pitches and Moldenhauer lined out to Mikie Mahtook who made a great catch for the first out of the inning. Texas then pulled a double steal before Rupp grounded out to Nola with Tucker scoring. Keys drew a base on balls bringing the tying run to the plate in Rowe who walked on four pitches. Clark followed with another walk on a high fast ball to cut the lead to 4-2. Loy, the number nine hitter, grounded out to Nola to end the inning. Ranaudo issued four bases on balls in the inning and was lucky that only two runs scored.

In the top of the fourth, LSU needed to score a couple of runs. Helenihi grounded out to shortstop to start the inning, then Nola grounded back to the pitcher and LeMahieu flew out to right field.

After LSU went down in order, I felt like the momentum had started to shift to Texas. But in the bottom half off the fourth, Torres led off lining out to centerfield, Tucker singled to right field, Belt struck out and Molenhauer grounded out to LeMahieu to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, Schimpf and Dean each grounded out to first base and Ochinko popped up to the catcher. At that point, the last nine LSU batters had gone down in order.

In the bottom of the fifth for Texas, Rupp singled up the middle and Keyes hit a home run to tie the game at 4-4. Then Rowe struck out, Clark singled to left field, Loy popped out to Mitchell and Torres flew out to left field to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, LSU scored five runs to take a 9-4 lead. Mitchell led off with a base on balls and went to second on a passed ball. Mahtook doubled to right centerfield scoring Mitchell, Gibbs reached base on a high throw on a sacrifice bunt and advanced Mahtook to third. Helenihi flew out to deep left field scoring Mahtook, then Nola grounded out to second base, LeMahieu walked on four pitches and then Schimpf was hit by a pitch. Dean, with a chance to make it hurt with the bases loaded, was also hit by a pitch with LeMahieu scoring, then Ochinko single to drive home two runs. Mitchell lined out to shortstop to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth for Texas, Tucker flied out to centerfield before Chad Jones replaced Ranaudo to face left-handed hitter Brandon Belt. Jones struck out Belt on four pitches, then struck out Moldenhauer on four pitches!

In the top of the seventh for LSU, Mahtook popped out to right field, Gibbs flew out to centerfield and Helenihi flew out to right field. In the bottom of the seventh for Texas, Rupp flew out to right field, Keys was hit by a pitch, Rowe popped up to Ochinko, and Clark flied out to left field to end the inning.

In the top of the eighth, LSU scored one run to increase the lead to 10-4. Nola doubled past the Texas first baseman, LeMahieu singled up the middle off of Austin Wood's leg, and Schimpf flew out to deep centerfield scoring Gibbs. Dean grounded into a double play to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eight inning, Louis Coleman entered the game to pitch. Brandon Loy was the first batter Coleman faced and he struck him out. Next, Torres doubled to right-center, Tucker grounded out to Helenihi who made an unbelievable play for the second out of the inning, and Belt grounded out to first base on a great play by Ochinko.

In the top of the ninth for LSU, Ochinko hit a line-drive home run to left field to increase the lead to 11-4. Mitchell grounded back to the pitcher, Mahtook grounded out to third base, Gibbs singled to right field and Helenihi struck out.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, LSU needed three outs to be national champs. Louis Coleman remained in the game facing Moldenhauer who walked on four pitches. Coleman struck out Rupp and Keyes and needed only one more out. He got it by striking out Rowe to end the game.

There was a huge celebration at the end of the game and a touching moment when Coach Paul Mainieri embraced his dad in front of the pitcher's mound.

I will spend the next few days recapping the 2009 baseball season and taking a look ahead to the 2010 season. Starting later this week, I will begin looking ahead to the 2009 LSU football season and will spend more time dealing with football recruiting. I am going fishing today. I haven't had much success in my last two fishing trips, but maybe my luck has changed.

In basketball recruiting news, two of Louisiana's top prospects, Langston Galloway of Christian Life and Brian Williams of Glen Oaks, have decided to leave the state to play their college basketball. Galloway has committed to play at ST Joseph in Philadelphia and Williams has committed to play at Oklahoma State. It was pretty well known for some time that both players wanted to leave the state. LSU head coach Trent Johnson is reported to be in great shape with three big-time recruits for the early signing period.

In closing, I will not be able to meet with my group this Friday morning. We will meet at the regular time the following Friday.



6/24/09 7:35 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU baseball team lost 5-1 to Texas last night forcing game three tonight. Texas freshman RHP Taylor Jungmann pitched the best game that any pitcher has pitched against LSU this season, in my opinion. Texas scored all five of their runs in the first three innings off of Austin Ross and Ryan Byrd.

Coach Mainieri will pitch Anthony Ranaudo tonight who is 11-3 on the season with a 2.87 ERA. Ranaudo has pitched 119 innings and has allowed only 85 hits and 45 bases on balls. He has struck out 155. If Ranaudo has his control and gets by the first two innings without allowing any runs, I believe LSU will win. Texas will start Cole Green who is 5-3 on the season with a 307 ERA. Green has pitched 108 innings, has allowed 93 hits and 34 bases on balls, and has struck out 84.

LSU head football coach Les Miles and head basketball coach Trent Johnson attended the game and spoke to the team before the game started. The players and fans were very excited about the two coaches supporting the team.

Below is my inning-by-inning recap of the game.

Texas, the visiting team, batted first against LSU's sophomore right hander Austin Ross and quickly took a 1-0 lead. Michael Torres led off with a four-pitch base on balls, then Micah Gibbs threw the ball in to right field on a pick-off attempt and Torres advanced to second. Travis Tucker laid down a perfect bunt to move Torres to third base and Brandon Belt singled to right field scoring Torres. Russell Moldenhauer grounded to Nola for a force out, Cameron Rupp singled to centerfield, and Kevin Keyes flied out to centerfield to end the inning. In the bottom half of the first inning, D.J. LeMahieu led off grounding out to first base, Ryan Schimpf struck out, and Blake Dean struck out to end the inning. Texas' starting pitcher Taylor Jungmann looked very sharp from the start.

In the top of the second inning, Texas scored another run. Connor Rowe lined out to Helenihi and Preston Clark hit a home run to left field. Austin Ross was not fooling any of the Texas hitters. Brandon Loy grounded out to Helenihi, Torres singled to left field, and Tucker was awarded first base on catcher's interference. Torres was picked off second base to get Austin Ross out of a tight spot.

In the bottom of the second, LSU scored one run to cut the Texas lead to 2-1. Gibbs grounded out to third base, Mikie Mahtook grounded out to third for the second out of the inning, and Jared Mitchell singled to left field for LSU's first hit of the game. Leon Landry beat out an infield single and Helenihi reached base on an error by the Longhorns' shortstop with Mitchell scoring. Austin Nola struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the third, Ryan Byrd replaced Austin Ross on the mound. Belt popped up to third base, Moldenhauer hit a long home run to right field to make the score 3-1. (It was Moldenhauer's fourth home run in Omaha after not hitting any during the regular season.) Rupp reached base on a bloop double to right field, Keyes flied out to deep right field, and Rowe doubled to left field giving Texas a 4-1 lead. Byrd was replaced by Nolan Cain who quickly gave up a run as Clark singled to left field scoring Rowe and increasing the Texas lead to 5-1. Loy grounded out to LeMahieu to finally end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, LSU wasted a great chance to get back in the game. LeMahieu tripled to right field, Schimpf lined out to second base, Dean drew a base on balls to put runners on first and third with one out, Gibbs struck out and Mahtook grounded to third forcing Dean out at second base.

In the top of the fourth inning for Texas, Torres struck out, Tucker grounded out to third base, Belt drew a two-out base on balls and Moldenhauer grounded out to Nola at shortstop. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mitchell drew a base on balls, Landry grounded to shortstop forcing Mitchell out at second and Helenihi grounded into a big-time double play.

In the top of the fifth inning for Texas, Rupp struck out, Keyes lined out to Leon Landry who made a great catch for the second out of the inning, and Rowe struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the fifth for LSU, Nola led off flying out to right field, LeMahieu grounded back to the pitcher's mound and Schimpf flew out to centerfield for the third out of the inning with Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann in total control.

In the top of the sixth inning for Texas, Clark singled to left field, Loy struck out, Torres flew out to deep centerfield, Tucker singled to right field with Clark advancing to third base and Belt poped out to Nola at shortstop to end the inning. In the bottom off the sixth for the Tigers, Dean reached base on an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Gibbs flew out to deep centerfield and Dean was called out for leaving second base before the centerfielder caught the ball. Mahtook struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh inning for Texas, Moldenhauer and Rupp each drew bases on balls. Nolan Cain was replace by Daniel Bradshaw to face Kevin Keyes with runners on first and second and no outs. Keyes grounded into a double play to Nola at shortstop, then Rowe grounded out to Helenihi to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh for LSU, Mitchell flew out to left field, Landry struck out and Helenihi struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the eighth inning for Texas, Preston Clark poped out to Austin Nola on a super catch. Loy reached base on an infield single and stole second, Torres grounded back to Bradshaw for the second out of the inning and Tucker lined out to Mitchell to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth for LSU, Nola grounded out to third base, LeMahieu reached base on an error by Texas shortstop Brandon Loy, Schimpf grounded out to third and Dean fouled out to first base for the final out of the inning.

In the top of the ninth for Texas, Brandon Belt led off with a single to right field. Moldenhauer grounded into a double play for the second out of the inning, Rupp was hit by a pitch and Keyes grounded out for the third out of the inning. In the bottom of the ninth for LSU, Gibbs led off with a single, Mahtook struck out on a pitch in his eyes, Mitchell grounded out to third on a very close play and Landry struck out to end the game.



6/23/09 7:20 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. The LSU baseball defeated Texas 7- 6 in 11 innings in one of the most exciting college baseball games I have ever seen. There were so many big moments and momentum changes in the game that it is hard to single out one play or one at bat, but in my opinion D.J. LeMahieu deserves MVP designation. In the seventh inning, LeMahieu hit his fifth home run of the season to cut Texas' lead to 6-5, and in the top of the ninth LeMahieu's clutch hit tied the game and forced extra innings. LeMahieu also led off the 11th inning with a base on balls and later scored on Mikie Mahtook's clutch single.

Mattie Ott pitched three great innings in relief to earn the win. Louis Coleman started for LSU and was roughed up for five solo home runs, all on fast balls after falling behind in the count.

LSU will try to close the deal tonight, most likely with Austin Ross on the mound. I sure hope the Tigers can wrap up the title tonight because my blood pressure cannot take very much more like last night.

Below is my inning-by-inning recap of the game.

LSU was the visiting team and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. D.J. LeMahieu led off grounding out to third base, Ryan Schimpf hit a long home run, and Blake Dean and Micah Gibbs both struck out with the bat on their shoulders. In the bottom half of the first inning for Texas, Michael Torres led off with a fly ball out to centerfield, Travis Tucker grounded out to Helenihi who made a nice play, and Brandon Belt flew out to right field to end the inning.

In the top of the second, LSU's Mikie Mahtook struck out on three pitches, Jared Mitchell singled up the middle, Sean Ochinko popped up to shortstop, and Derrick Helenihi struck out to end the inning. Texas pitcher Lance Ruffin struck out four hitters in the first two innings and looked very good. In the bottom of the second inning, Russell Moldenhauer led off with a single, Cameron Rupp lined out to left field, Kevin Keys popped up to LeMahieu, and Brandon Loy struck out to end the inning.

In the top off the third, Austin Nola lined a single to right field, LaMahieu sacrificed Nola to second base, Schimpf struck out and Dean popped up to second base to end the inning. In the bottom off the third for the Longhorns, Preston Clark struck out, Connor Rowe popped up to shortstop, and Torres lined out to LeMahieu to end the inning.

After three innings it was obvious that Coleman was not at his best after falling behind in the count to several hitters.

In the top of the fourth, Gibbs and Mahtook each struck out for their second times in the game, and Mitchell flied out to deep centerfield to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Texas' Tucker hit a line drive home run to tie the game at 1-1. The home run was Tucker’s third of the season. Belt grounded out to first base and Moldenhauer hit his second home run of the season to straight away centerfield to make the score 2-1. Next, Rupp flew out to Mahtook, then Keyes hit his eighth home run of the season to left field to give Texas a 3-1 lead. Loy lined out to Mitchell in right field t end the inning.

In the top of the fifth inning for LSU, Ochinko drew a base on balls, Helenihi popped up to leftfield on a 2-0 pitch, Nola popped up to first base in foul territory, and LeMahieu struck out to end the inning. In the bottom off the fifth for Texas, Clark grounded out to Helenihi, Rowe struck out, Torres singled to right field, Tucker struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, LSU needed to score a couple of runs to get back in the game. Schimpf led off the inning striking out, Dean singled to right field, Gibbs singled to right field with Dean advancing to third base, Mahtook struck out for the second out off the inning, and Mitchell tripled to left field to tie the game 3-3 off of left-handed pitcher Austin Wood. Ochinko grounded out to third base to end the inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brandon Belt flew out to Mahtook in centerfield, Moldenhauer hit his second home run of the game and his third of the season to give Texas a 4-3 lead. Rupp struck out for the second out of the inning, Keyes singled to centerfield, Loy doubled to right-centerfield to put runners on second and third, and Keys scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3.

In the top of the seventh, the Tigers needed two more runs to get back in the game. Helenihi grounded out to shortstop, Nola struck out, LeMahieu hit his fourth home run of the season to cut the Texas lead to 5-4, and Schimpf struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning for Texas, Connor Rowe led off with a home run to increase the lead to 6-4. (The four home runs by Texas were a season-high for the Longhorns.) After the home run by Rowe, Louis Coleman was replaced by Chad Jones who retied the next three hitters. Torres grounded out Ochinko who made a nice play, Tucker popped up to centerfield and Belt struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the eighth for LSU, Dean drew a base on balls, Gibbs flied out to left field, and Mahtook grounded into a double play to end the inning. In the bottom off the eighth inning, Paul Bertuccini replaced Chad Jones who was outstanding in the one inning he pitched. Kyle Lusson was the first batter Bertuccini faced. Lusson drew a base on balls, then Rupp grounded out to Helenihi, Keyes flied out to Schimpf in left field, and Loy flew out to Mitchell to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth inning for the Tigers, Jared Mitchell grounded out shortstop, Ochinko singled to left field, and Helenihi drew a base on balls to put runners on first and second. Tyler Hanover, pinch hitting for Nola, worked the count to 2-0 before Texas made a pitching change, then Hanover struck out on two terrible pitches. LeMahieu doubled to left field to tie the game at 6-6, Schimpf drew an intentional base on balls, and Dean flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Matty Ott came in to pitch for LSU. Tim Maitland led off the inning being hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count, Rowe moved the runner to second with a sacrifice, Torres flied out to left field, and Tucker flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

In the top of the 10th, LSU put runners on base but couldn't score. Gibbs drew a four-pitch base on balls, Mahtook singled to right field with Gibbs advancing to second, Mitchell flew out to right field with Gibbs advancing to third, a wild pitch advanced Mathook to second base, Landry was intentionally walked, Helenihi struck out with the bases loaded, and Hanover struck out on a pitch in the dirt.

In the bottom of the 10 th inning, the Longhorns had their fourth, fifth and sixth hitters up. Belt led off grounding out to Hanover at second base, Loy flew out to Mahtook in centerfield, Rupp drew a two-out walk on a very close 3-2 pitch, and Lusson struck out to end the inning.

In the top off the 11th inning, the Tigers did what they had to do. LeMahieu led off with a base on balls, Schimpf popped up to shortstop, Dean flew out to left field, LeMahieu stole second and went to third on the throw, Gibbs drew a base on balls, then Mahtook came to bat with a chance of being a hero. Mahtook hit a clutch single to centerfield to give LSU a 7-6 lead. Mitchell flew out to right field to end the inning. In the bottom of the 11th, Loy led off striking out on a pitch a foot outside, Maitland struck out on a great pitch by Ott, and Rowe grounded out to Hanover to end the game.

In football news, it appears that LSU redshirt freshman wide receiver Tim Molton will miss the entire 2009 season with a torn ACL, according to several reports.

A note for my crew who meets each Friday morning at CC’s in Lafayette: I will be out of town Friday and will not be able to meet but will meet again as scheduled the following Friday.


6/22/09 6:45 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. I hope all of you had a great weekend and will enjoy tonight's LSU-Texas College World Series game. There is no doubt that LSU and Texas are the best college baseball teams in the nation this year. Texas will be the home team tonight and LSU will be the home team Tuesday night. All Tiger fans are hoping that a third game won't be necessary.

LSU and Texas are two totally different teams. LSU is a team that depends on big innings and the long ball on offense while Texas is a team that depends more on small ball and pecking away one or two runs at a time.

Texas will start sophomore RHP Chance Ruffin who throws in the low- to mid-90s and has a great slider. Ruffin is 10-2 on the season with a 3.27 ERA. Ruffin has 104 strikeouts and 24 bases on balls this season. LSU's Coach Paul Mainieri will start Louis Coleman (14-2). Coleman has pitched 121 innings , struck out 132 and allowed 22 bases on balls. The thing that really scares me with Coleman is that he has given up 16 home runs on the season, most of which came after falling behind in the pitch count. The key for Coleman tonight will be to stay ahead in the pitch count, and to not give in to the hitter when he does fall behind in the count. I think it will be very important for LSU to take control of tonight’s game in the early innings and not have to battle from behind against Texas' outstanding relief pitchers. LSU has won 13 games in a row and extending the streak to 15 would be great.

Here are two excellent articles on LSU's super freshman, Mikie Mahtook. Mahtook has already had a huge impact with this team and will play an even bigger role next year. Articles: Mother's touch molded Mahtook & Mahtook gains inspiration from the father he lost 15 years ago today

In LSU football news, most of the incoming freshmen and returning players have been working out at LSU since early June. A handfull of signees from last February's signing class, whom I will not name, have not taken part in Summer workouts because of academics. But according to my sources, most of the players, if not all, will be eligible to report to practice in August.

In other LSU football news, there are rumors that redshirt wide receiver Tim Molton suffered an injury last week during workouts but I have not been able to get any details on the injury. Also, Matt Branch (TE, 6'7", 270, RS) from Sterlington, La, has been moved to offensive tackle and the move does not come as a surprise to me.


6/21/09 6:30 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans, and a very Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dads. I will be with all of my children today except for my son Dan who lives in Arlington, Texas. I hope that all of you who will not see your dad today will pick up the phone and call him just to say Happy Father’s Day.

The LSU baseball team is enjoying its spare time in Omaha sightseeing and meeting new friends. LSU Tiger fans have pretty much taken over the city, and businesses in Omaha are loving every minute of it. Generally speaking, traveling Tiger fans are free spenders and love to have a good time.

LSU will be playing Texas in a two-out-of-three series starting Monday at 6 p.m. Texas does not jump out at you stat-wise on offense, but they have played a murderous schedule and are very well coached by 70 year old Augie Garrido who has won 1,668 games and five national titles in his long coaching career. Texas was only hitting .288 to start the CWS with only 42 home runs, and had stolen 71 out of 95 stolen bases attempted. LSU is hitting .315 as a team with 94 home runs and 112 stolen bases out of 151 attempts.

The things that really stands out about The Longhorns is their defense and pitching. Texas led the Big 12 conference in fielding percentage with a .978 percentage and turned 61 double plays. Their pitching staff has a combined 2.88 ERA which is in the nation's top five. In 575 innings, the staff has only given up 473 hits and 173 bases on balls, and they've recorded 520 strikeouts. The LSU pitching staff has a combine ERA of 3.99, more than one run higher than Texas'. LSU's fielding percentage is .973 with only 34 double plays. There is an old saying that good pitching stops good hitting and that defense wins championships, and if that is the case LSU will have all they handle with The Longhorns. I like LSU's chances in three games.

I know that all of you have things to do today since it is Father’s Day and I will make this update short. Once again, I would like to wish all of you Dads a great day. I still miss my Dad 44 years after his death and think of him each and every day.



6/20/09 6:30 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. The LSU baseball team defeated Arkansas 14-5 to advance to the championship round starting next Monday against Texas. Texas scored two runs on two long homers in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Arizona State 4-3. In LSU's win over Arkansas, Anthony Ranaudo was the starting and winning pitcher for LSU and was outstanding. Ranaudo pitched six scoreless innings allowing four hits, did not issue any bases on balls and recorded five strikeouts. All that and he only threw 78 pitches. Louis Coleman will likely start Monday's game for the Tigers. Austin Ross will likely start Tuesday's game, but Daniel Bradshaw could get the start. Ross has not been very impressive in his last two performances. Ranaudo will start Wednesday's game if there is a game three. I believe the matchup between LSU and Texas is going to be a great one. Texas has great pitching and plays great defense. I will have more on the matchup in my next two updates.

Here's my inning by inning recap of yesterday's game:

LSU was the visiting team and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. D.J. LeMahieu led off for LSU striking out, Ryan Schimpf took a called third strike for the second out of the inning, Blake Dean doubled to right field and Micah Gibbs singled up the middle to score Dean. Mikie Mahtook grounded out to shortstop Zach Cox to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first, Arkansas' Chase Leavitt led off popping out to LSU shortstop Austin Nola. Scott Lyons struck out and Zach Cox grounded out to Sean Ochinko at first base to end the inning.

The second inning was scoreless. In the top of the second, LSU only sent three hitters to the plate. Sean Ochinko grounded out to shortstop, Jared Mitchell drew a base on balls and Derek Helenihi hit into a double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, Arkansas' Andy Wilkins flied out to deep left field, Bo Bigham grounded out to LeMahieu, Jacob House singled to right-centerfield, and Brett Eibner flew out to Schimpf in left field to end the inning.

In the top of the third, LSU scored three runs to take a 4-0 lead. Austin Nola led off the inning with a single, LeMahieu drew a four-pitch base on balls and Schimpf singled to right field to load the bases. After Schimpf's single, Arkansas made a pitching change. Dean reached base on an error by the Arkansas first baseman with Nola scoring. Next, Gibbs struck out, Mahtook flew out to centerfield and scored LeMahieu, Ochinko reached base on a wild pitch on a 3-2 count with Schimpf scoring, and Mitchell struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the inning for Arkansas, James McCann singled, Andrew Darr flew out to left field, Leavitt laid down a bunt for a single, Lyons flew out to right field and Cox struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth inning, LSU went three and out. Helenihi opened the inning grounding out to shortstop, Nola flew out to right field and LeMahieu lined out to first base.

In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Arkansas' Wilkins led off striking out, Bigham grounded out to Helenihi at third base and House struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, LSU scored one run to increase the lead to 5-0. Schimpf struck out, Dean hit a line drive home run to right field, Gibbs grounded out to first base and Mahtook struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Eibner led off with a single, McCann grounded out to third base, Darr grounded out to Nola at shortstop and Leavitt popped up to Nola to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth for LSU, Ochinko led off striking out, then Mitchell hit an opposite field home run to increase the lead to 6-0. Helenihi lined out to second base and Nola grounded out to shortstop.

In the bottom half of the sixth inning for Arkansas, Lyons grounded out to shortstop, Cox struck out and Wilkins grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh inning, LSU scored two runs. D.J. LeMahieu led off the inning with a fly out to right field, then Schimpf hit a monster home run to right field. Dean drew a base on balls, Gibbs reached base on an error by Arkansas pitcher T.J. Forest with Dean advancing to third. Mahtook singled to score Dean, Ochinko doubled to left field, Mitchell drew a base on balls and Mahtook scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Hanover, pinch hitting for Helenihi, doubled off the right field fence to make the score 11-0. Nola drew a base on balls and Nola followed with a walk to load the bases. LeMahieu grounded out to the pitcher for a 1-2-3 inning-ending double play.

In the bottom of the 7th with LSU up 11-0, Austin Ross came in to relieve Renaudo who had pitched a wonderful game. Ranaudo pitched six innings, allowed only four hits, issued no bases on balls and struck out five. Bo Bigham was the first to face Ross and went down swinging on a three-pitch strike out. Next, Jacob House followed with a single up the middle. Eibner followed with a home run (his 2nd of the CWS) to make it 11-2, then McCann followed with a strike out. Andrew Darr walked and Leavitt got a base hit into right field to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Lyons was next to the plate and grounded out to first to end the inning.

With the score 11-2 in the top of the 8th, Schimpf led off with a nice base hit to right field, his third hit of the game. A wild pitch to Dean moved Schimpf to second, then Dean struck out for the first out of the inning. Gibbs struck out for the second out of the inning, then Mahtook flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 8th leading by nine runs, LSU pitcher Ryan Byrd entered the game in a mop-up role. Byrd quickly retired the side, three and out, with a popup to right field, a grounder to the pitcher's mound, and a fly out to right field.

In the top of the ninth with LSU holding a commanding lead, pitcher Zack Cox entered the game for Arkansas. Leon Landry led off the inning as a pinch hitter and flew out to right field. Next, Nicholas Pontiff got a scratch single on a weak grounder to the first baseman and Hanover followed with a two-run homer over the left field fence to make it 13-2. McGhee followed with a fly ball out deep to centerfield, then LeMahieu singled up the middle for the team's 14th hit of the game. Buzzy Haydel was next to the plate as a pinch hitter and drilled one down the left field line for a double. With runners on second and third and two outs, Chad Jones came to plate and Arkansas changed pitchers to Christian Kowalchuk, their eighth pitcher of the game. Jones drove home a run with single to make it 14-2, then a deep fly ball out to left field ended the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Matty Ott came in as LSU's closing pitcher but had some trouble. Ott gave up a base hit between third and shortstop, then struck out the next two batters before walking Darr. Then Chase Leavitt kept the Arkansas Razonbacks' glimmer of hope alive with a three-run homer to make it 14-5. Pul Bertuccini entered the game for LSU and Tim Carver grounded out to third base to end the game.

In basketball news, LSU lost out on Noel Johnson who chose the Clemson Tigers over the LSU Tigers. I really felt like Trent Johnson would be able to sign Johnson based on the fact that he could step in and start.

Reader comments: Don, I do not know if you heard, but Seimone Augustus tore her ACL and is out for the season in the WNBA. Sad news!



6/19/09 6:30 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. The LSU baseball team will be playing Arkansas today at 1:00. A win by The Tigers would put LSU in the championship bracket against the winner of the other regional which has Texas in the driver's seat with a 2-0 record. If by chance LSU would lose today, they would play Arkansas again on Saturday at 1:00 or 6:00. I like LSU's chances of winning at least one of the two games with Ranaudo and Coleman pitching. In my opinion, LSU will be in great shape to win the national championship if they win today's game. If LSU has to play on Saturday to advance to the championship they will still be in decent shape, especially if the winner of the other bracket is forced to play two games in the winners' bracket to advance to the championship round. LSU has won 12 in a row and I hope the Tigers can extend the streak to 15 before returning home.

In my Thursday morning update, I mentioned the names of several prospects whom I believe LSU is recruiting to complete the 2010 signing class, but I forgot to name Trovon Reed (6'0", 171, ATH/WR) from Thibodaux. Reed is the top prospect in the state and is being recruited by LSU as an athlete (ATH). An ATH is a player who can play several positions. In Reed's case, he could play WR, RB, or P/K. LSU is recruiting Reed as a wide receiver and as a punt and kick return player. I also failed to mention quarterback Terrance Broadway (6'0", 200) from Capitol in Baton Rouge. I do not believe there is a lot of interest from Broadway to sign with LSU. I might be wrong, but I believe Zack Lee is the only quarterback LSU will sign in February.

Thursday afternoon I received a phone call from LSU's latest commitment, Houston Bates, who is very happy about becoming one step closer to his lifetime dream of playing at LSU. Bates is excited about this year's signing class and even more excited about the 2011 Louisiana recruiting class. He told me to tell Tiger fans that the state is loaded with great talent for the 2011 signing class and that great things are ahead for Tiger fans.

I asked what position Bates was recruited to play. He answered that he would like to remain on the defensive side of the ball but would play any position that Coach Miles would ask him to play. I asked him what he thinks he needs to improve on to play in the SEC and his answer was to get bigger, stronger and faster. Bates ran the forty in 4.65 at the most recent LSU Summer camp and would like to get his time down to 4.6. Bates is a super nice young man who reminds me a lot of LSU baseball player Mikie Mahtook whose lifetime dream was to play at LSU and who never seriously entertained the thought of playing for anyone except else.

Later Thursday afternoon, I spoke to running back Centarious Donald (6'2", 205, 4.5) from Caldwell Parish high school in Columbia, Louisiana. Donaldson attended the June Summer camp at LSU and was not offered, but did turn some heads as a running back prospect and as a wide receiver. Donald is a player that LSU has some interest in. Donaldson's coach was told at the camp that LSU is recruiting three other big-time running backs. Donaldson has already attended the Nike camp in Houston, the LSU, USM, MSU camps, and has been invited to attend an Oklahoma camp. Donaldson has received scholarship offers from ULM, Northwestern State, Tulane and MSU.

In basketball recruiting new, LSU is believed to be the leader for Noel Johnson, a 6'7" small forward from Fayetteville, Georgia. Johnson is a national top 50 player who has averaged 23.8 points per game the last two years and has made 38 percent of his three-points shots, according to reports I received. Johnson is expected to make his decision known before this week is over. Georgia Tech, Clemson, UNLV and North Carolina State are also in the hunt for Johnson.


6/18/09 6:50 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU Tigers will be playing Arkansas Friday at 1 p.m in the College World series. Arkansas defeated Virginia 4-3 in 12 innings last night. Arkansas tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning on a two-out, two-run homer. Virginia had several changes to win, but could not make the big plays when needed. Arkansas will have to defeat LSU two times to deny LSU a chance to play in the championship series starting Monday. LSU should have the pitching advantage Friday with Anthony Ranaudo on the mound. I will have more on the LSU-Arkansas matchup in my Friday morning update.

LSU picked up football commitment No. 15 yesterday from Houston Bates, a 6'3", 230, ATH. There is some question about Bates' correct height. Bates told me he was 6'3" when I interviewed him in February and that is the information I am going to use until I'm told otherwise. Bates grew up bleeding purple and gold and the same is true with his grand dad and entire family, and I think his open desire to attend LSU kept several big-time schools from recruiting him. Bates did receive offers from several major colleges including Alabama and that tells me he is a solid prospect. When I spoke to Coach Spear about Bates he told me Bates has all the tools to be a super college football player.

In other recruiting news, LSU now has 15 commitments with 10 scholarships to give. In my opinion, needs to focus on signing three more offensive linemen and at least three defensive linemen, one or two running backs, one more defensive back and one more wide receiver.

As for offensive linemen, Elliot Porter (6'3", 285, Shaw) who is listed as a defensive end on my top prospect list was very impressive in the June 08 Summer camp and has been offered a scholarship and I believe he will commit very soon. I will change Porter from a DE to a OL later today. Alex Hill (6'4", 285, OL, Slidell) was also very impressive but has not yet been offered. LSU is recruiting five out of state offensive linemen who have LSU listed in their final two.

As for defensive linemen, you can pencil in Jordan Allen (6'6", 245, West Monroe) who can flat out play. Walker Ashburn (6'2", 250, John Curtis) has super quickness, is almost impossible to block and reminds me of LSU true freshman Bennie Logan from Red River high school. I am afraid that Ashburn's size might keep him from being offered. Les Miles and his staff are recruiting six to eight big-time out-of-state linemen and will sign two or three. As for running backs, Miles is in on three big-time out of-state-running backs and will be alright if he only signs one. LSU will lose Charles Scott and Keiland Williams this season but will return Richard Murphy, Stevan Ridley, redshirt freshmen Drayton Calhoun and freshman Michael Ford, plus Russell Sheppard whom I expect will carry the ball 10-15 times per game. In the 2011 signing class, there will be four big-time national recruits in Louisiana.

As for signing another wide receiver, I believe James Wright from Slidell will become a Tiger, and Armand Williams, also from Slidell, is very high on the list. I also believe Trovon Reed will sign with LSU as an ATH but will likely play WR.

As for signing one more defensive back, the staff appeared to be very impressed with Tremond Johnson from O.P. Walker.



Late-breaking News 6/17/09, 2:35 pm CST

Houston Bates, a 6'3", 230, ATH from ST Paul of Covington has committed to play football for Les Miles and the LSU Fighting Tigers, according to a reliable source in the Covington area. Bates is number 11 on my List of Top LA Football Prospects for the Class of 2010. Bates' outstanding performance in last week's Summer camp at LSU led to the offer.


6/17/09 6:35 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU Tigers are sitting pretty in their bracket of the College World Series with a 2-0 CWS record. LSU will play the winner of the Arkansas-Virginia game on Friday at 1 p.m. LSU is as hot as can be after winning their last 12 games and allowing no more than three runs in any of the wins except on June 05 when LSU defeated Rice 12-9. In that game, LSU held a big lead going into to the eighth inning when Coach Mainieri used a couple of pitchers who had seen very little playing time this season.

In Friday's game against Arkansas or Virginia, I expect Coach Mainieri to start Anthony Ranaudo, and if LSU happens to lose Friday's game I believe Austin Ross will get the start on Saturday. It would be great if LSU wins Friday and starts the championship series with a well rested pitching staff.

I like LSU's chances because the team is 2-0 in the CWS and seventeen of the last 19 CWS champs opened play with a 2-0 record. However, Texas is also 2-0 in the CWS after defeating Arizona State 10-6. (Texas had fallen behind 6-0 in the third inning.) LSU and Texas each need one more win to advance to the championship round which starts next Monday, June 22.

Here is a wonderful story of the bond between our LSU Tigers and the city of Omaha.

In football recruiting news, things are on the slow side. I have received conflicting reports concerning academics and how many players from last February's signing class are not yet qualified to play as true freshmen. I was led to believe three weeks ago that only two players have not been cleared by the clearinghouse. I am now being told that four true freshmen have not been cleared and are not working out with the other members of the 2009 signing class. According to my source, LSU feels like at least three of the players will be cleared. Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that any of the incoming freshmen will not be eligible to play as true freshmen. I believe it will be mid-July before all the players are cleared by the clearinghouse.

Jacob Hester will be in Shreveport conducting his football camp for kids 10-18 years of age in July. Here's a link for more information on the Jacob Hester Football Camps.

In closing, I would like to wish Courtney Frioux from New Iberia a very happy birthday. Frioux will turn 59 today.



6/16/09 6:35 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU baseball team defeated Arkansas 9-1 and is only one win away from playing for the CWS championship. LSU played great on defense and benefited from timely hitting from Mikie Mahtook, Blake Dean, Jared Mitchell and Austin Nola, to name a few. After a rocky start, Louis Coleman settled down and pitched very well like he has done all season. Daniel Bradshaw and Nolan Cain also pitched great in relief. LSU's next game will be Friday at 1 p.m against the winner of the Arkansas-Virginia game to be played Wednesday. Below is my recap of last night's game.

Higher seed LSU was the visiting team and batted first. D.J. LeMahieu led off the top of the first inning with a line drive single to right field and stole second on a hit and run play. Next, Ryan Schimpf fouled off nine pitches before receiving a base on balls, Blake Dean flied out to left field on a lazy fly ball, Micah Gibbs struck out and Mikie Mahtook hit a 3-2 pitch for a three-run home run to give LSU a 3-0 lead. Jared Mitchell followed with a double then Sean Ochinko poped up to the catcher to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first inning, Arkansas cut the LSU lead to 3-1. Chase Leavitt led off the inning grounding out to LeMahieu, Ben Tschepikow doubled down the left field line, Scott Lyons singled to right field, Andy Wilkins flew out to left field with Tschepikow scoring, then Zack Cox grounded back to LSU starting pitcher Louis Coleman to end the inning.

In the top of the second, LSU scored one run to make it 4-1. Derek Helenihi led off the inning by grounding out to first base, Austin Nola grounded out to shortstop, LeMahieu singled, Schimpf doubled to score LeMahieu, and Dean drew a base on balls forcing Arkansas to make a pitching change. T.J. Forrest, who signed with LSU out of high school and later transferred to Bossier City Junior College, was brought in to pitch to Gibbs who struck out on a 3-2 pitch.

In the bottom of the second inning, Bo Bigman drew a base on balls and at that time Louis Coleman did not look very sharp. Andrew Darr struck out, James McCann singled to left field putting runners on first and second, Collin Kuhn struck out, and Leavitt grounded out to second. In the top of the third inning, Mikie Mahtook flew out to Centerfield, Mitchell flew out to centerfield, and Ochinko grounded out to shortstop. In the bottom of the third, Tschepikow led off with a double off the right field wall, Lyons stuck out and Wilkins drew a base on balls. Then Cox, a great freshman power hitter, struck out before Bo Bigham drew a base on balls to load the bases. Jacob House, pinch hitting for Darr, struck out to leave the bases loaded. In the top of the fourth inning, Helenihi grounded out to shortstop, Nola doubled to right centerfield, Le Mahieu flied out to right field, Schimpf was hit by a pitch and Dean struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Coleman retired the first batter on a fly ball to centerfield, Kuhn struck out, and Leavitt was robbed by LeMahieu who made a great play behind second base and threw out Leavitt with his knees on the ground. In the top of the fifth inning, Gibbs and Mahtook grounded out, Mitchell doubled, and Ochinko popped out to centerfield. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Tschepikow led off grounding out to Nola who is the real deal, Lyons flew out to centerfield, and Wilkins, batting with the bases empty, doubled to left center field. Next, Cox grounded out to Ochinko on a super play to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, LSU broke it open by scoring five runs and increasing the lead to 9-1. Helenihi started by flying out to right field, then Nola hit a line drive home run over the left field fence to make the score 5-1. LeMahieu flied out to centerfield and Schimpf drew a base on balls before Dean hit a long home run on a 3-1 pitch to give LSU a 7-1 lead. Next, Gibbs singled up the middle, Mahtook drew a base on balls on a 3-2 pitch, and Mitchell singled to left field with Gibbs and Mahtook scoring to increase the lead to 9-1. Ochinko popped out to end the inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning for the Razorbacks, Bo Bigman flied out to Mitchell in right field, House single up the middle, McCann grounded out to second, and Travis Sample, pinch hitting for Kuhn, struck out. In the top of the seventh inning, Helenihi flew out to right field and Nola ground out to second base. LeMahieu reached base on an infield single, then Schimpf struck out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Louis Coleman was replaced by Daniel Bradshaw. Leavitt led off for Arkansas by flying out to centerfield, Tschepikow grounded out to LeMahieu, Lyons reached base on an infield single on a great effort from Helenihi, and Wilkins grounded out to Nola to end the inning. In the top of the eighth inning, Dean drew a base on balls, Chris McGhee pinch ran for Dean, Gibbs singled to centerfield, Mahtook struck out, Mitchell flew out to left field and Leon Landry, pinch hitting for Ochinko, grounded back to the pitcher for the third out of the inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cox lined out to Mahtook in right field, Bo Bigham struck out, House singled, McCann grounded to Helenihi forcing House out at second base. In the top of the ninth, Helenihi struck out, Nola grounded out to second, LeMahieu drew a base on balls and Haydel, pinch hitting for Schimpf, grounded out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Nolan Cain came in to pitch for LSU. Sample struck out, Leavitt singled to right field, Tschepikow struck out, and Lyons grounded out to Nola to end the inning and the game.

Louis Coleman pitched six inning, allowed one run on six hits, issued one base on balls and recorded seven strikeouts. Daniel Bradshaw pitched two innings, allowed two hits and struck out two. Nolan Cain pitched one inning and allowed one base hit.

There is no news to report in football recruiting. I will start breaking down the 2009 LSU football team position by position after the CWS is over.

Softball Signee Fico Wraps Up High School Career

STRATFORD, Conn. – LSU softball signee Rachele Fico wrapped up her high school career over the weekend as Masuk High School dropped 1-0 decision in the state championship game. Fico racked up an impressive 105-3 record with a 0.07 ERA and won a pair of state championships. She tossed a national high school record 26 perfect games to go along with 47 no-hitters and 95 shutouts en route to 1,884 strikeouts.

Click here to read a feature on Fico from the Connecticut Post.



6/15/09 6:50 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. I hope today is the start of a great week for all of you. LSU will be playing Arkansas tonight at 6 p.m in the CWS. Louis Coleman will be on the mound for LSU. Coleman pitched a complete game two-hitter on May 02 at Fayetteville and I hope that he pitches as well tonight as he did in the 5-0 win. Coleman is 13-2 on the season with a 2.76 ERA. He has pitched 114 innings, allowed 92 hits, issued 19 bases on balls and recorded 124 strikeouts. Arkansas will start Brett Eibner with a 5-4 records and a 4.61 ERA. Eibner has pitched 70 innings, allowed only 60 hits, walked 33 and recorded 66 strikeouts.

Arkansas finished the SEC season losing 10 of their last 13 games and just sneaked into the NCAA tournament. Arkansas was send to Oklahoma for regional play and defeated Washington State 10-3 and Oklahoma 17-6 and 11-0. Arkansas was sent to Florida State to play in a super regional and defeated FSU 7-2 and 9-8. The Razorbacks defeated Cal-State Fullerton 10-6 Friday in the first game of the CWS.

Arkansas has a .273 team batting average while LSU's average is .315. Arkansas has hit 75 home runs and LSU has hit 94. Arkansas has stolen 63 of 89 stolen bases attempted. LSU has 112 stolen bases out of 151 attempts. LSU's pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.99. Arkansas' pitching staff has a cobined ERA of 4.56. Andy Wilkins leads Arkansas in hitting with a .326 average with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. Ben Tschepikow is hitting .310 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs. Chase Leavitt is hitting .302 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. Freshman third baseman Zack Cox is hitting .271 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs and is a great clutch hitter.

D.J. LeMahieu leads LSU in hitting with a .340 batting average. Ryan Schimpf is hitting .335 and leads the team in home runs with 20. Blake Dean is hitting .333 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs. Sean Ochinko is hitting .330 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs. Jared Mitchell is hitting .325 with nine home runs, 43 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Micah Gibbs is hitting .286 on the season with six home runs and 39 RBIs and has been very hot the last two weeks.

In football recruiting news, Coach Les Miles picked up comittment number 14 Sunday from quarterback Zach Lee (QB, 6'4", 198) from McKinney, Texas. Lee had close to 20 offers and chose LSU over Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Rice, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Arizona State, Missouri, and Arkansas, to name a few. Lee is also one of the top junior high school baseball pitchers in the state of Texas. Lee will play both football and baseball at LSU. Lee finished his junior season with an 8-1 record and a 1.55 ERA. Lee takes all honor classes and has a 4.80 GPA (5-point honor scale), according to information I received from one of my readers from McKinney, Texas.

Sunday was a huge day for email and most of the messages I received were concerning the rise of the Texas A&M track and field program under former LSU head track and field coach Pat Henry. Texas A&M won both the men and women's track and field championship over the weekend while LSU's men finished sixth and the women finished seventh. Henry left LSU in 2004 or 05 after LSU refused to pay Henry $300,000 per year and build a $30,000,000 facility. Here is a nice article on LSU football and track and field.



6/14/09 7:23 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU baseball team defeated Virginia 9-5 in the College World Series last night. The team was outstanding on defense, and that's one of the main reasons the Tigers won. Anthony Ranaudo pitched his worst game of the season and I think the fact that LSU pulled out the win in spite of Ranaudo's performance is sign of a very good baseball team. I thought Coach Mainieri did a great job with his relief pitchers.

LSU's next game will be Monday at 6 p.m against Arkansas of the SEC West. Virginia will be playing Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m Monday.

Here is my inning-by-inning recap of the game that I hope you enjoy.

Jarrett Parker led off the first inning for Virginia striking out. Phil Gosselin grounded out to shortstop, then Danny Hultzen, the starting pitcher and the designated hitter, grounded out to Helenihi at third base to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the first inning, LSU took a 1-0 lead. D.J. LeMahieu led off striking out, Ryan Schimpf flew out to left field, Blake Dean doubled to right field and Micah Gibbs singled to score Dean. Mikie Mahtook hit a bloop single to put runners on first and third, then Sean Ochinko struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the second inning, Dan Grovatt led off for Virginia with a long fly ball to left field that appeared to be fair but was called a foul ball. Grovatt singled to left two pitches later. Steven Proscia flew out to Schimpf for the first out of the inning, Tyler Cannon drew a four-pitch base on balls, John Hicks flew out to Mahtook on a great sliding catch for the second out of the inning, and Franco Valdes struck out to end the inning. Ranaudo was not very sharp and had baseball fortune on his side to escape the inning without allowing any runs.

In the bottom of the second, Jared Mitchell led off the inning striking out. Derek Helenihi followed suit and also struck out, then Austin Nola flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

In the top of the third, Virginia scored one run to tie the game at 1-1. Keith Werman, the nine hole hitter, led off the inning with a double to left-center field. Parker drew a base on balls, Gosselin flew out to deep right field with Werman moving to third base, Hultzen grounded up the middle and LeMahieu made a great play to throw out Hultzen but Werman scored. Parker went to third on a wild pitch to Grovatt who walked to put runners on first and third. Proscia lined out to Nola to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, LSU scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead. D.J. LeMahieu led off the inning with a single up the middle. Schimpf doubled to right field, Dean hit a deep fly ball to right field scoring LeMahieu and advancing Schimpf to third base. Gibbs singled to score Schimpf, Mahtook singled to centerfield to advance Gibbs to second base, Ochinko struck out for the second time in the game, Mitchell drew a base on balls to load the bases, and Helenihi flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth inning, Virginia scored one run to cut the lead to 3-2. Tyler Cannon led off the inning with a triple, Hicks struck out, Valdes hit a bloop single down the right field line to score Cannon, Werman beat out a bunt for a single, Parker drew a base on balls to load the bases. Mainieri replaced Ranaudo with Paul Bertuccini. Ranaudo only pitched three and one-third innings which was his shortest outing of the season. Gosselin struck out, and Hultzen lined out to Schimpf in left field on a great running catch.

In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Nola led off with a base on balls, LeMahieu forced Nola out at second base, and Schimpf struck out with LeMahieu thrown out on attempting to steal second base.

In the top of the fifth inning, Virginia scored two runs to take a 4-3 lead. Grovatt grounded out to LeMahieu, Proscia hit his 10th home run of the season to tie the game at 3-3. Cannon singled, Hicks singled, Valdes grounded out to first base, and Werman singled to right field to give Virginia a 4-3 lead. Bertuccini was replaced by Austin Ross with the bases loaded to face Jarrett Parker, the leading home run hitter for Virginia. Ross struck out Parker to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Dean led off striking out, Gibbs singled for the third time in the game, Mahtook singled for his third hit of the game, and Ochinko hit his eighth home run of the season to give LSU a 6-4 lead. Mitchell struck out, Helenihi singled up the middle, and Nola grounded out to first base to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, Gosselin led off the inning lining out to Schimpf who made a nice running catch. Hultzen singled to left field, Grovatt grounded out to LeMahieu with Hultzen advancing to second base, and Proscia struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, LeMahieu led off the inning with a single to left field, Schimpf grounded out to first base with LeMahieu advancing to second base. Dean struck out and Gibbs flew out to second base to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh inning, Virginia scored one run. Cannon led off the inning with a single, Hicks forced Cannon at second base, Hicks was thrown out trying to steal second and Valdes hit a home run to cut LSU's lead to 6-5. Werman, the ninth place hitter, singled for his fourth hit of the game. Austin Ross was replaced by Chad Jones to face lead off hitter Jarrett Parker who drew a base on balls on a 3-2 pitch that looked to be a strike to the ESPN announcers and to me. Gosselin poped up to second base to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Mahtook grounded out to shortstop, Ochinko struck out and Mitchell lined out to first base.

In the top of the eighth inning, LSU needed six outs to advance in the winners' bracket. Hultzen led off the inning against Louis Coleman striking out, Grovatt popped up to Schimpf for the second out of the inning, Proscia was hit by a pitch and Cannon grounded out to LeMahieu to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, LSU scored three runs to increase the lead to 9-5 lead. Helenihi led off the inning reaching base on an error by Virginia's third baseman, Nola was hit by a pitch trying to sacrifice Helenihi who was thrown out trying to steal third base on a hit and run play. LeMahieu singled to left field, then Schimpf turned on an inside fast ball for his 20th home run of the season. Dean grounded out to first base and Gibbs grounded out to second to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, LSU closer Matty Ott entered the game with a four-run lead. Hicks led off the inning by popping up to Ochinko in foul territory. Valdes doubled to the wall in right centerfield, Werman grounded out to Nola and Parker struck out to end the game. Ott does not appear to let anything get to him and he never seems to lose his composure. Great win for the Tigers!



6/13/09 6:45 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU baseball team will be playing Virginia today in the College World Series with hopes of ultimately bringing home the CWS championship for the sixth time. The Tigers won the CWS in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000, and it is time to win the title again.

I have watched or listened to every play of every game this season and it has been a very enjoyable season with a lot of highs and lows. Leon Landry and Sean Ochinko started the season red hot. Landry hit nine home runs the first month of the season before going into a deep slump and went two months before hitting his tenth home run. Mikie Mahtook replaced Landry in centerfield and started off the season hitting less than .200 in his first 20 at bats, but finished the season hitting a solid .330. Landry finished the season with 12 home runs. Ochinko was hitting over .400 the first six weeks of the season before leveling off and finishing the season hitting .330. Blake Dean started the season in a terrible hitting slump and was hitting .220 with only two home runs after the first 38 games. Dean finished the season hitting .333 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs. Ryan Schimpf and D.J. LeMahieu have been LSU's most consistent hitters the entire season. LeMahieu finished the season hitting .340 and Schimpf finished hitting .335 and leads the team in home runs with 17. As for pitching, Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman have been very consistent all season and Ranaudo leads the SEC (4th in nation) in strike outs. Coleman was named first team All- American by all the major media that cover baseball.

The 2009 season was also a season with a few surprises. Freshman Tyler Hanover took over the third base position early in the season and turned in a solid season hitting .317 with 44 RBIs. Austin Nola took over at shortstop at mid-season because of his defense and LeMahieu moved to second. Nola hit only .238 but was outstanding on defense committing only six errors. Freshman Matty Ott emerged early in the season as the pitching staff closer and finished the regular season with 16 saves and was named All-SEC and freshman All-American.

In football news, Thursday night at the Tiger Tour in Atlanta, Coach Miles told told the crowd of over 300 that Stevan Ridley is two months ahead of schedule with his knee rehab and could start practice today and actually could be running. By the start of fall practice he should be 100%. Coach Miles had high praise for the team's running game. He also said Shepherd was "not very good" at the start of spring practice throwing the football but by the end of the spring he had made a tremendous amount of improvement, so much so that he said he is confident he will take some snaps at QB this season and would most likely be used in other positions on the field throughout the season. He said he really liked Shep's ability to look at his receiving options, read the defense and run if he needs to.

In track and field news, Trindon Holliday won the 100 meters with a time of 10.00 at the NCAA national championship meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Hats off to Holliday for his accomplishment.

Reader comments: The Charlotte LSU Alumni group will be viewing the LSU v. Virginia baseball game at The Philosopher's Stone Tavern Saturday night at 7 P.M. EDT. Come on out cheer on the Tigers!



6/12/09 6:30 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. The LSU baseball team and coaches have arrived in Omaha and are the toast of the town. LSU has always been the fans' favorites of Omaha because of their great food and joie de vivre, and this year will be no different. I received one email Wednesday from a Tiger fan who arrived at about noon and told me that there were 10-12 motor-homes already there when he arrived and several more pulled in later in the day.

Coach Paul Mainieri announced Tuesday that Anthony Ranaudo will start Saturday's game against Virginia, which did not come as a surprise. Louis Coleman will start Monday's game. Austin Ross will likely start game three if LSU does not go 0-2, and hopefully Ranaudo will pitch game four. Derek Helenihi will start Saturday's game at third base because he has been playing very well the last two weeks of the season and because Tyler Hanover has an ankle sprain but will be able play, if needed. The remainder of the starting line up and batting are the same with LeMahieu at second base, Ryan Schimpf in leftfield, Blake Dean as the designated hitter, Michal Gibbs behind the plate, Mikie Mahtook in centerfield, Sean Ochinko at first base, Jared Mitchell in right field, Helenihi at third base and Austin Nola at shortstop.

Wednesday was a big day for email and most of the messages I received were concerning the MLBD that was completed Wednesday. In my opinion, LSU was not hurt as much with incoming recruits as in recent years. I believe only Slade Heatcott (drafted in the first round) and Chad Stang (drafted in the eighth round) will likely sign to play pro baseball. I suspect the other four incoming players will honor their commitments to LSU. Zack Von Rosenberg, a 6'5" RHP from Zachary and Brody Colvin, a 6'2" RHP from STM in Lafayette, were drafted in the sixth and seventh rounds respectively and I believe both will start as true freshmen for the Tigers. Mitchell Mormann, a RHP from Des Moines junior college, went in the 20th round to the San Franciso Giants and Wes Luguette, a 6'0", 190 catcher from Newman, went in the 27th round to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Soon after the CWS is over, LSU will announce the signing of a few more players including a first baseman who has hit close to 60 home runs the last two seasons in junior college.

In football recruiting news, Houston Bates (6'3", 230) from ST Paul of Covington has been offered a football scholarship to attend LSU. LSU's defensive coordinator was impressed with Bates' quickness and strength and told him he would play middle linebacker if he signs with LSU. Bates, his dad and grand dad all bleed purple and gold, and I am surprise that Bates did not commit on the spot. I believe it is only a matter of days before Bates commits.

In SEC football news, Alabama has been placed on a three-year probation and will be forced to forfeit all wins in all sports that seven athletes performed in from 2005-07, including as many as 21 football wins. Bad news for the Tide, to say the least. I am surprised that the NCAA took action against Alabama and I wish they would take action against USC for some things they have done and against the University of Tennessee who has admitted to several recruiting violations in the last three months. Here is a link to the Alabama story.

Reader comments: Hi, Dandy Don! I'm with OLOL Children's Hospital. We are the second largest children's hospital in the state of Louisiana, we treat 70,000 children each year and never turn a child away. One of the ways we raise funds to benefit our hospital is through the children's miracle mansion. Times are tight and we really need as much community support now more than ever and we are looking at all avenues to help us raise these much needed funds. We are hoping you would help us... This year we have an early prize drawing on July 3 on WBRZ- Channel 2 for two LSU Season Football tickets if you purchase a mansion ticket by June 30. Do you think you could talk about this in your day to day updates? Our website is ololchildrens.com. Please let me know your thoughts. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Reader comments: Watch Party Saturday: The Panhandle Bayou Bengals will host a Watch Party Saturday June 13th at Shooter's Sports Bar in Cordova Lanes, 2111 Airport Blvd., Pensacola (850)477-2300. The Tigers play Virginia in the College World Series with the first pitch at 6:00 pm. We'll be boiling up a few sacks of crawfish, corn, potatoes etc. before the game around 5-5:30 pm. Crawfish are free, small donation is appreciated towards our Mardi Gras Float. All LSU Fans and Friends are welcome! For more information call: 850-206-7981 or email: at LSUPanhandle@hotmail.com Please RSVP so we can have enough crawfish for all!!


6/11/09 6:45 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. Only three more days until the LSU baseball team plays Virginia in the CWS. The game will be televised on ESPN at 6 pm. I like the bracket that LSU is in and I believe LSU will advance to the championship bracket by defeating Cal State Fullerton. I like North Carolina in the other bracket. I believe LSU's pitching depth will be the difference in winning the CWS. Here is a link to the complete brackets for the CWS.

I my opinion, Anthony Ranaudo is as good or better than any pitcher in the CWS. I am a little concerned with Ranaudo's slow delivery to home plate which will make stealing bases easy, and Virginia loves to steal bases. At 6'7", Ranaudo is a very intimating pitcher on the mound and usually issues a lot of strike outs, especially early in games. However, Ranaudo has had some control problems early in games and the last thing he'll want to do Saturday is walk a few batters early in the game and give Virginia an early lead. If Ranaudo is on his game from the start, I believe the Tigers will win.

Virginia might be a little nervous to start the game considering it will be their first world series appearance in close to 50 years. Virginia is a team that does not score a lot of runs and has hit only 55 home runs on the season compared to 94 for LSU. Virginia has collected 128 doubles compared to 130 for LSU, and has hit 27 triples compared to 17 for LSU.

In other LSU baseball news, Louis Coleman, Matty Ott and Anthony Ranaudo have received All-America recognition. Coleman, a senior right-hander from Schlater, Miss., and Ott, a freshman right-hander from Metairie, La., each received NCBWA second-team All-America honors. Ranaudo, a sophomore right-hander from Jackson, N.J., was named to the third-team All-America squad.

In the MLBD, four LSU players were drafted Wednesday in the second day of the draft. Louis Coleman was selected in the fifth round by Kansas City, Ryan Schimpf was also selected in the fifth round by Toronto, Blake Dean was selected by Minnesota in the 10th round, and Sean Ochinko was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round. I am very happy for all the players and wish them the very best of luck. I believe Schimpf, Dean and Ochinko will sign pro contracts.

Six LSU baseball signees have also been chosen in the draft. These include outfielder Slade Heathcott (1st round, New York Yankees); right-handed pitcher Zack Von Rosenberg (6th round, Pittsburgh Pirates); right-handed pitcher Brody Colvin (7th round, Philadelphia Phillies); outfielder Chad Stang (8th round, Milwaukee Brewers); right-handed pitcher Mitchell Mormann (20th round, San Francisco Giants); and catcher Wes Luquette (27th round, Pittsburgh Pirates).

In football recruiting news, Coach Les Miles has to be smiling after picking up three commitments in two days as a result of the first Summer camp. I do believe that two or three prospects who attended the camp will commit to LSU before the start of the 2009 school year. I have reason to believe that several LSU commitments' star rankings will go up in the next few weeks. I believe Sam Gibson, D.J. Welter and Luke Muncie will jump to four stars. The number of stars by a player's name does not make him a better player, but it does help in the recruiting rankings which is bigger than life with some of my friends who attend my Friday morning get together at CC’s in Lafayette.

Reader comments: Don, Here's a nice article on Louis Coleman.



6/10/09 6:55 am CST

Good morning, Tiger fans. I hope today is a great day for all of you.

The first LSU football Summer camp ends this morning and the Tigers picked up two commitments, three counting Ronnie Vinson who committed to LSU on Sunday after visiting LSU during the weekend. LSU's last two commitments, Sam Gibson from Prattville, Alabama and Cameron Fordham from Duluth, Georgia, are not big name recruits, but they performed well at the camp and earned themselves scholarship offers. The reason for having three-day Summer camps are for the coaches to get to know the players and their work habits and watch them compete against other prospects. I am always a little concerned when LSU receives commitments from out-of-state players who did not receive scholarship offers from the state university in their home state. Georgia and Georgia Tech did not offer Cameron Fordh